From 23 to 26 April 2024, as part of the European Union and UNODC co-funded JUST4ALL project, a high-level delegation from the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Kyrgyz Republic conducted a study visit to Georgia. Its members included Kurmankul Zulushev, the Prosecutor General, Elnura Maratova, Head of the Legal Statistics and IT department, and Zalkar Aknazarov, Head of the International Relations Department. The visit’s objective was to gain insights into Georgia’s advanced information management systems within the criminal justice sector.

During their three-day stay, the visitors met with key Georgian institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The detailed briefings on Georgia’s information management systems enhanced the delegation’s understanding of the country’s criminal justice landscape.

“The exchange of perspectives between the criminal justice professionals of Kyrgyzstan and Georgia proved to be mutually beneficial, offering valuable insights into effective crime prevention strategies, procedures for addressing gender-based and domestic violence, and the human rights-compliant use of digital technologies,” stated Kurmankul Zulushev.

The delegation showed particular interest in the electronic criminal case management practices of Georgian prosecutors, which involve the modern storage and digitalised administration of forensic evidence, as well as the utilization of data for crime prevention. Discussions also focused on the implementation of unified crime reporting to improve transparency, efficiency, and adherence to human rights principles within criminal justice systems. Notably, there were discussions on the use of technology for tracking and monitoring cases of pre-trial release and probation, as well as electronic supervision in cases of domestic violence.

Recognizing the need to enhance its own criminal justice system, Kyrgyzstan has actively pursued the development of digital solutions similar to those used in Georgia. The delegation aims to incorporate key findings and shared knowledge from their visit into ongoing efforts to strengthen an efficient, human rights-compliant, and rule of law-based criminal justice framework in the Kyrgyz Republic.

“Supporting Justice Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic: Promoting Probation and Integrated Justice Information Management (JUST4ALL)” is a four-year project co-funded by the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and implemented by the UNODC in partnership with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR). It promotes the humanisation of the criminal justice system in the Kyrgyz Republic and aims to improve the country’s capacity to implement its criminal justice reforms in line with international standards and norms as well as European best practices. The two main components of the project concern the following areas of criminal justice reform: probation and information management.